INSURER Old Mutual says it is in the process of testing OM Bank with partner banks in the industry.
It said this yesterday in a voluntary operating update for the quarter ended March 31 as it announced it had delivered double digit sales growth.
In April 2024, Old Mutual announced that the Prudential Authority had granted the group approval to establish OM Bank subject to certain licence conditions.
“The substantive progress on both the perimeter review and the bank-build are concrete proof-points of our focus on strategic execution to accelerate value creation,” it said.
In its update, the insurer said, “Overall, we expect our diversified business to remain well positioned for growth and we delivered double digit sales growth across our business for the quarter ended 31 March 2024.”
This was as the global economy had proven to be resilient despite continued concerns regarding escalation of conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Life APE sales recorded robust growth of 10% to R3.17 billion from the prior period.
Gross written premiums increased 7% to R6.9bn driven by strong new business growth in Retail and Specialty businesses in Old Mutual Insure.
Gross flows increased by 4% to R51.1bn from the prior period. This was driven by higher inflows in the offshore business in Wealth Management and strong inflows in Old Mutual Africa Regions following the acquisition of a large new mandate in Malawi as well as higher unit trust sales in East Africa, it said.
Looking ahead, it said, “The group's perimeter review is on track with the announcement of our exit of our general insurance business in Tanzania which followed the exit of our general and life insurance businesses in Nigeria.
“Both transactions are pending regulatory approval. These exits followed a thorough strategic review in line with our disciplined approach to capital allocation and in support of strengthening our return on net asset value.”
BUSINESS REPORT